The present invention relates to concrete forms. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with prefabricated concrete wall formwork modules that can be assembled like bricks to form a mold into which concrete is poured. Once assembled and filled with concrete, the modules are left in place thereby providing a concrete wall with panels on both of its sides.
A formwork for casting a concrete wall is traditionally assembled on the premises using two wood or metal panels maintained in spaced parallel relationship by tie-wires and other appropriate connection means at their ends. Such formwork is expensive since its mounting and dismounting are time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,931 issued to Meilleur on Dec. 26, 1989 and entitled “Insulating Formwork for Casting a Concrete Wall” discloses an insulating formwork for casting a concrete wall, which is made of foam panels connectable to each other in parallel relationship by means of tie-rods. Once assembled, the panels define a concrete formwork into which concrete can be poured.
Even though the assembly of this formwork is simplified by the configuration of the panels, the formwork must still be completely assembled on the premises, thereby requiring time and manual dexterity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,380 also issued to Meilleur on Jun. 6, 2000 and entitled “Concrete Wall Formwork Module” discloses a prefabricated concrete formwork module that may be assembled with other similar modules in the manner of a brick wall to form a mould into which concrete is poured. Even though Meilleur's module solves the above-mentioned problem of the assembly, it presents the new drawback that it is cumbersome, takes a lot of space and is therefore costly to transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,276,340 issued to Polycrete International Inc. on Oct. 2, 2012 and titled “Concrete Wall Formwork Module” teaches a collapsible formwork module having wall panels that are movable between a retracted parallel relationship and a spaced apart parallel relationship. The panels are reinforced by the inclusion of wire meshes that are hingedly assembled by attaching spacer rods to both panels therebetween. This module solves the space problem while remaining easy to install. However, a drawback of these modules is that they are configured with an inherent horizontal directionality that renders tedious their positioning and assembly vertically. Moreover, their side by side assembly is not locked until adjacent modules are attached.